Each summer, students from across the state join First Southern’s internship program! Meet Hearne, Pierce and Courtney and learn more about their roles at First Southern.
Hearne Harralson is from Princeton, Kentucky, and attends school at Murry State University. He interned at the Princeton branch, where his main task was researching potential new loan and bank relationships. Hearne’s internship was unique in that he was able to work alongside his dad, a loan officer. “My favorite memory was going out on cold calls with my dad, Brad Harralson,” Hearne said. “It was really fun to learn from him and see what he does on a day-to-day basis.”
Through this internship, Hearne learned the value of a team. “I learned that everyone in the bank has a key role,” he said. “Some of the roles may seem more significant than others, but each role is vital and important in its own way.
Pierce Hendrick, a student at the University of Kentucky, interned at the Bowling Green branch and worked with business development. “I learned what all goes into running a bank and how important connections are,” he said. “Coming into this internship, I really had no idea what went on inside a bank, but the people around me helped me gain a good grasp on everything.”
The FSNB internship program includes a weekly Compass Financial class where participants learn about paying off debt, saving, budgeting and more. Pierce said that his “favorite thing has been the Compass class that was offered to all the interns. It taught me a lot about finances and money.”
Courtney Messer is a University of Kentucky student from Cincinnati but lived with her grandmother in Russellville while interning at the Russellville branch. She worked with the lending department and assisted loan officers in the loan presentation process. She analyzed and developed a spreadsheet summarizing prospective clients for future services, planned a community Job Fair and traveled to all the branches in the Western Kentucky market. “My favorite memory would have to be doing carpool karaoke with my supervisors on the way to these other branches,” Courtney said.
The internship allowed Courtney to learn more about herself as she plans for the future. “I learned a lot through this experience and gained great exposure to the lending side of banking. Most importantly, however, I learned about myself. I do not entirely know what I will be doing in the future, but I know what I want from my team and who I would like to be as a team member,” she said. “The culture of First Southern is unique in the sense that they really care. I was told from the beginning that First Southern always puts people first, and in my short time here, I can say this is true. In the business world of today, this kind of culture is becoming rare, and it is no wonder to me why everyone here seems to love their jobs.”
